Back to the OP’s question: When in doubt, send a PM rather than post.
For example, if someone says they are looking for a particular saddle and I happen to have one for sale, I would send the poster a PM with the details. It would be considered advertising if I posted it as part of the thread.
I think the same would go for someone looking for a stud. I would send them a PM, not post.
You can still get in trouble for sending a PM.
Additionally, soliciting via the board is also verboten. No one is allowed to post “wanted” anything.
Rick - Well - depends. Are they negative or positive comments? :lol:
Bogie - During the Reign Of Erin, a girl on the endurance board was having a lot of saddle trouble and since we were going to be at the same endurance ride, I posted that I have a saddle she could try and if it works, I’d sell it because I’m not using it anyway. I was banned for a week and got this nasty little red dingie in my profile that never went away. The very last thing I was thinking about was making any money. I just thought I was being helpful. :lol:
[QUOTE=Bogie;3603029]
Back to the OP’s question: When in doubt, send a PM rather than post.
For example, if someone says they are looking for a particular saddle and I happen to have one for sale, I would send the poster a PM with the details. It would be considered advertising if I posted it as part of the thread.[/QUOTE]
But that is precisely what TC did. And, as a result, got slapped with an advertising infraction.
See the conundrum?
Vicki,
If you post some photos of your work and I comment on them, am I advertising for you? Are you advertising?
This is exactly where I get confused on this - when it isnt BLATANT - but more into the GREY areas …
If Vicki did a photo of my stallion and posted it as
“Look at the WONDERFUL photo’s I just took of TC’s stallion - Fluffy!” I would say thats double edged - she is “pimping” her work (for lack of better terminology … 
) plus she is putting in a free plug for me and for Fluffy in exchange for the money she made from me for taking the pictures in the first place
And - how about if I posted instead with:
“Look at the WONDERFUL pictures Vicki took of my stallion Fluffy! If anyone is looking for a super photographer - contact Vicki - she is fabulous!”
Is that advertising? On both of our parts?
Now - how about I substitute “my stallion Fluffy” for “my old almost dead 25 year old gelding Bobby”. Bobby is long past selling any part of his body to anybody so I stand to gain nothing other than posting some nice pictures of him that I am very proud of
Would that be okay if I helped promote the photographers business in that manner simply because I was so pleased with the work she did for me?
Or is that advertising as well???
Here is the message I received for violating the advertising rule:
You have received an infraction at Chronicle Forums
Dear TrueColours,
You have received an infraction at Chronicle Forums.
It’s been brought to our attention that you have emailed board members to solict business as a Bossy Bibs representative, which violates the advertising rules of the forum.
This infraction is worth 1 point(s) and may result in restricted access until it expires. Serious infractions will never expire.
All the best,
Chronicle Forums
So - again - I have NO idea how this could be construed as advertising! And yet it was …
There is a thread on Off Course now asking which COTH member does the custom stained glass in eventers colours. How can ANYONE respond without being guilty of the same thing???
Bogie - according to this, you cannot PM or Email either without violating the rules!
This definitely needs to be answered by the mods. I had put a “wanted” add up and got yelled at and was told to go to the marketplace. OK so I did. 2 weeks later(after add was never posted) I get a pm stating that I they weren’t going to put my add up for various reasons. I think I was to detailed in what I was looking for. Anyway didn’t matter at that time as I had (by the time I got the pm) found what I was looking for. And not through this BB either.
So in that aspect, why tell me to go elsewhere then tell me that they wont post?
OK, I’m reading thru this thread trying to determine for myself what “advertising” means on this Forum and am now wondering why the thread posted below, created Sept. 15th and still active, is not advertising??
http://www.chronicleforums.com/Forum/showthread.php?t=167137
I guess because the store did not directly post it? We can advertise for others?
Back when Mountain Vet was still shipping RXs all over the country, I frequently pointed people in their direction. If I’d WORKED there or benefited financially from my posts, I think that would have been blatant advertising. As it was, I’m just another customer tell other potential customers about a good deal.
For me, at least, the line is: do you benefit financially from your post? If yes, then you’re advertising. If no, then it’s not an ad.
For me, at least, the line is: do you benefit financially from your post? If yes, then you’re advertising. If no, then it’s not an ad.
If it was that clear cut and that Black and White I wouldnt have even started this thread
I may personally benefit by recommending my stallion if someone is looking for a stallion that fits what he is. Why is that level of promotion permitted but saying that you have the perfect hoof boot or riding vest that fits the exact criteria of what the OP is looking for - doesnt???
What if you dont “post” at all, but PM someone or EMAIL them off the board? How is that construed as “advertising” on the COTH boards??? 
And lets say you’re a friend of mine and I phone or email you and ask you to start a thread about my blanket bibs - raving about how wonderful they are and here is the link and Donna is such a terrific person to deal with and then people come on that thread and I respond to their questions. “Grey area” advertising, huh?!
I’m not sure what the rules are either, but I’d say you just violated them again, didn’t you?
Never mind.
Sometimes, my mind doesn’t work like normal folks. Carry on.
The only way that COTH could have known that you e-mailed someone about your product is if someone complained.
If I post that I am having problems with my blanket fitting, or my horses shoe isn’t right, or whatever other problem I may have, I don’t think that I should receive a number of e-mails or PM’s from blanket companies or farriers or whatever the case may be as a result of that post. If I wanted that I would have e-mailed the different companies.
I am posting because I am looking for other people’s input on products or services that they have tried that work. If you have a good product (and this is no reflection on the OP’s product) then someone will step forward and recommend it and yes this might be a friend of the manufacturer.
I had no idea that was forbidden. Live and learn!
There is a thread on Off Course now asking which COTH member does the custom stained glass in eventers colours. How can ANYONE respond without being guilty of the same thing???
Raises hand sheepishly…that’s my thread, but I didn’t even think anything about advertising when I posted it, and it was before I had read this thread. I just remember there is a COTHer who has her website in her sig line that does custom stained glass, but I can’t remember who it is, and I thought they would make good Christmas gifts. I’ll let the mods know they can pull it if they see fit.
The only reason I posted it is b/c I have seen similar threads of people who ask stuff like, “hey, who does those pretty browbands” or “who was it that did so and so’s awesome horse portrait?”. But I’ve never tracked to see if those type of threads are shut down or not.
Definitely some good questions on this thread about what constitutes (or doesn’t) advertising.
OK, this is a doozy of a thread with a lot of questions, so let’s dig in.
First off, the general reasons behind having no-advertising rules:
So the board doesn’t become overrun by people hocking their wares, horses, selves, etc.–we try to maintain a productive atmophere that fosters discussion vs. self-promotion, where folks can get honest opinions without being targets for advertising
Because the boards are provided free of charge by the Chronicle, which is supported in vast majority by advertising dollars–ie. why buy the cow if you can get the mild for free?
That’s the general concept. Now how to achieve that? It’s tricky and it’s not an exact science–there are no AI “Modroids” yet commercially available to do the job!
While maintaining those two ideals, we also don’t want to handcuff the “experts” who are in the best position to answer some of the questions posed about their product, stallion, service, etc. We feel it’s important to allow those people the freedom to respond on threads concerning them or their products, stallions, etc.
That’s what we’re trying to convey in these rules, for example:
Stallions – Board members may ask for suggestions on breeding stallion recommendations. Stallion owners may reply to such queries by suggesting their own stallions, only if their horse fits the specific criteria of the original poster. Excessive promotion of a stallion by its owner or related parties is not permitted and will be addressed at the discretion of the moderators.
Services – Members may use the forums to ask for recommendations of trainers, barns, shippers, farriers, etc., and other members may answer those requests by suggesting themselves or their company, if their services fulfill the specific criteria of the original post. Members may not solicit other members for business if it is not in response to a direct, genuine query.
So, yes, if someone asks for a farrier or a stallion recommendation, and one of our members fulfills the specific criteria outlined, a poster can suggest themselves or their stallion.
As in the Thinline example, or the original Fluffy stallion example, you can respond on threads concerning your “product” but you can’t start one about it.
This is one of the places where the old “moderator discretion” caveat comes into play. For example, if a stallion appears to fulfilling an extraordinary range of specific criteria ;), or we have reason to believe an OP is being “planted” in order to provide an opportunity for a self-promotional opportunity, we may intervene.
There are lots of gray areas by nature as each situation has its unique set of circumstances. For example, if we’ve had to contact a user before about their use of the board, and something falls into a gray area, we may be less forgiving.
Let me try to address a few specific examples raised in this thread as examples:
The OP is asking about a general service and people who fulfill that criteria can respond.
But, for example, if the OP was a total greenie, singing the praises about site or product, we would likely look into it further to see if he/she was affiliated with the company.
She later submitted a wanted thread to Giveaways, and the horse she was looking for exceeded what we allow requests for in that forum, which is light riding, companion, husband-type horses, so we sent her a note explaining why her thread couldn’t be approved. Doesn’t mean you can’t find her kind of horse there, but we don’t allow folks to advertise for one.
Jane Savoie thread: started by random people talking about the video series. Jane has commented on it, thanking people for the feedback and answering questions. At last check, OK, per above. She can’t go on that thread and do a hard sell and provide a price list, etc., but she can answer questions people ask.
Products: Selling saddles, tubs of supplements, blankets, etc.
The general rule:
Products – While members may ask for general opinions and suggestions on equipment, trailers, trucks, etc., they may not list the specific attributes for which they are in the market, as such posts serve as wanted ads.
This is again intended to avoid the use of the board to buy and sell specific items. May we direct you to the classifieds on the bb or www.chronofhorse.com for that purpose?
Yes, we allow representatives of products to provide general comment on threads, which could help promote their product and make a sale. They are, though, a good source of facts straight from the company’s mouth, and we don’t feel it’s fair to not allow them to respond to comments/criticism/questions.
In the case of the OP’s infraction, we’d prefer not to go into the specifics of poster’s histories and our past contacts with them, but in general, she’d already responded on the thread itself, which was fine, but she followed that with an unsolicited email–obtained from the user’s profile on the board–advertising the products she represented, complete with testimonials.
Sport’s earlier post re: unsolicited emails, PMs etc. is the reason this practice is against the rules. Yes, it’s basically impossible to enforce, but we don’t think it’s appropriate for people to be essentially spammed due to their participation on the board. And if someone complains, it’s our job to address the issue.
We hope this novella has addressed some of your concerns and questions! We going to close the thread because, as much time as we spend on the board, we can’t keep up with individual threads to address questions effectively. That’s why we encourage users to contact us privately–not for subterfuge.
We sincerely strive to provide the most fair and objective moderating possible on the board and have attempted to create and enforce rules that maintain a productive, enjoyable atmosphere (without putting the Chronicle out of business)!
We’re looking at ways to tweak the advertising opportunities on the board to open up MORE “legal” advertising opportunties that are effective and affordable for big companies and little guys alike.
Thanks for expressing your concerns and for your interest in the board!
Mod 1
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